Chapter 7: Unit I

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Chapter 7 Unit I

• LIFE ON THE WESTERN PLAINS

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THE LAND
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THE LAND

• LAND WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI CONSIDERED TO BE
  DESOLATE BY THE EARLIEST EUROPEAN SETTLERS
• THE PLAINS WAS HOME TO MILLIONS OF JACKRABBITS,
  PRARIE DOGS, AND 12-15 MIL. AMERICAN BISON
  (BUFFALO)

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NATIVE AMERICANS
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NATIVE AMERICANS

• THE WEST WAS HOME TO NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES SUCH
  AS THE SOUIX, COMANCHE, AND BLACKFEET
• THEY WERE NOMADIC TRIBES THEY ROAMED VAST
  DISTANCES IN SEARCH OF THEIR MAIN FOOD SOURCE
  (BUFFFALO)

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NATIVE AMERICANS

• NATIVE AMERICANS USED ALL OF THE PARTS OF THE
  BUFFALO
• THEY WERE DEPENDENT ON THE BUFFALO TO PRIVIDE
  FOOD, AS WELL AS SHELTER, CLOTHING, AND OTHER
  THINGS

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NATIVE AMERICANS

• THEY ORIGINIALLY USED DOGS TO HAUL THEIR
  POSSESSIONS AS THEY HUNTED FOR FOOD
• IN THE 1600S NATIVE AMERICANS OBTAINED HORSES
  FROM SPANISH SETTLERS

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NATIVE AMERICANS

• NATIVE AMERICANS OBTAINED HORSES BY TRADING FOR
  THEM OR STEALING THEM FROM THE SPANISH SETTLERS
• BY THE MID 1750S ALMOST ALL OF THE PLAINS PEOPLE
  RODE ON HORSEBACK

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NATIVE AMERICANS

• HORSES DRASTICALLY IMPROVED THE WAY OF LIFE FOR
  THE NATIVE AMERICANS
• IT ENABLED THEM TO BE BETTER HUNTERS
• IT MADE THEM TO BE BETTER FIGHTERS THEY WERE
  ABLE TO RESIST SETTLERS AND RAILROADS

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NATIVE AMERICANS

• IN ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO, APACHE AND NAVAJO
  NATIVE AMERICANS CAPTURED HORSES TO SELL TO THE
  NORTHERNERS

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THE RAILROADS
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THE RAILROADS

• WITHOUT THE RAILROADS IT WOULD HAVE REQUIRED A
  CENTURY TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT HAS BEEN DONE IN FIVE
  YEARS -DAKOTA NEWSPAPER EDITOR

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THE RAILROADS

• THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD ULTIMATELY RESULTED
  IN
• THE KILLING OF THE BUFFALO AND ALL OTHER PRARIE
  LIFE
• OBSTRUCTION OF THE NATIVE AMERICANS WAY OF LIFE
• REMOVAL OF THE NATIVE AMERICANS TO RESERVATIONS

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THE RAILROADS

• RAILROAD CONSTRUCTION BEGAN AT A FRANTIC PACE
  DURING THE CIVIL WAR
• THE FIRST TRANSCONTINENTAL LINE WAS COMPLETED IN
  1869
• MAY 10, 1869, WEDDING OF THE RAILS TOOK PLACE A
  PROMENTARY POINT, UTAH

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THE RAILROADS

• THE UNION PACIFIC COMPANY WAS EMPLOYED TO BUILD
  THE RAILROAD WEST FROM OMAHA
• THE UNION PACIFIC COMPANY EMPLOYED MOSTLY IRISH
  IMMIGRANTS

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THE RAILROADS

• THE CENTRAL PACIFIC COMPANY WAS EMPLOYED TO
  BUILD THE RAILROAD EAST FROM SACREMENTO
• THE CENTRAL PACIFIC COMPANY EMPLOYED MOSTLY
  CHINESE IMMIGRANTS

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THE RAILROADS

• EACH COMPANY WAS GRANTED 16,000, 32,000, OR
  48,000 PER MILE DEPENDING ON THE TERRAIN
• EACH COMPANY RECEIVED LAND GRANTS ALONG THE
  RIGHT OF WAY AVERAGING 640 ACRES PER MILE

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THE RAILROADS

• RAILROADS LED TO THE DEMISE OF THE BUFFALO
  POPULATION BY CUTTING THEIR NORTH TO SOUTH
  MIGRATION ROUTES IN HALF
• BECAME SPORT FOR VACATIONERS TO SHOOT BUFFALO
  FROM TRAIN WINDOWS

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THE RAILROADS

• IN 1871 IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT BUFFALO LEATHER
  COULD YIELD A PROPHET
• PROFFESSIONAL HUNTERS WENT OUT WEST AND KILLED
  MILLIONS OF BUFFALO FOR THEIR HIDES

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THE RAILROADS

• TRAINLOADS OF BONES WERE SHIPPED EAST TO MAKE
  FERTILIZER OR CHARCOAL
• BY 1886 ONLY A FEW HUNDRED BUFFALO WERE LEFT
• AND THESE WERE DEEP IN THE CANADIAN WOODS

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THE END